Overwatch will be free to play on PC next weekend

Time to call your fence-sitting friends: Overwatch will be free to play next weekend, starting July 26th. The game will be freely available on Windows PCs, and you’ll have access to the full hero roster if you decide to jump in.

The free weekend kicks off at 20:00 CEST on July 26th, and runs through July 31st at 08:59 CEST. During that time, anyone with a Windows PC can download and play Overwatch for free. You won’t need any special keys or activation codes; just make sure to have a Blizzard account and the Battle.net client installed on your machine.

Once you’ve got Overwatch installed, you’ll be able to jump into Quick Play, Custom Games, and the Overwatch Arcade, and play on 18 maps. It’s the full Overwatch experience, complete with gaining experience, leveling up, and opening loot boxes. Any progression you make and loot you gain over the course of the free weekend will be permanent if you decide to buy the game, as long as you’re using the same Blizzard account.

It’s a good weekend to hop in, too. Overwatch’s newest hero, Wrecking Ball, will be heading out of the Public Test Realm and onto the main servers July 24, which means even long-time players will be figuring out how to play as and deal with the destructive little hamster.

Our Overwatch Heroes guide can help you figure out which member of Blizzard’s growing roster of international characters you might want to start out in if you decide to play during the free weekend.